I always wanted to go to the Amazon. So in the summer of 2012, I met Roger Mustalish, President of ACEER (Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research) and he and the Center organized a 9-day trip to the Yarapa River Lodge in the Peruvian Amazon. Accompanying me were an American photographer named Mike, a Peruvian botanist named Juan Ruiz from the University of Iquitos, a Peruvian shaman named Antonio Montero, two Amazon guides named Leo (a Yagua Indian) and Ericson. Joseph Rivas, my friend from Cusco, Peru, was my interpreter.

We arrived at the lodge, home of Cornell University’s Esbaran Amazon Field Laboratory. During the day I collected, scanned and photographed plants. At night I listened to am recorded stories about the plants from Juan, Montero, and Leo. Montero, the shaman, performed a ceremony for us every night to bring good luck.

This is an ongoing project in cooperation with the ACEER foundation that we are working to develop into an exhibition to benefit&nbsp; this remarkable organization.